Haven for history-lovers
The Hawkesbury, one of New South Wales’ best kept secrets, is just one hour north-west of Sydney. With 17 small towns and villages to explore, 5 rivers and more than 70 percent of the area being National Parks, the Hawkesbury is a haven for adventure and nature-lovers, as well as for art and history lovers alike.
Discovered in 1789, The Hawkesbury is one of the earliest colonial settlements in Australia and with many of the area’s original buildings surviving from that era, it creates a “time capsule” of Australian Colonial History.
The atmosphere of the historic towns of Windsor, Richmond and St. Albans, together with the quaint rural settlements of Kurrajong, Bilpin, Lower Portland, Ebenezer, Pitt Town, Colo and Wiseman’s Ferry, contributes to the uniqueness of this truly picturesque area.
Since 1794, when the first settlers arrived to farm their 30 acres, the area has been supplying fresh produce to Sydney. This continues today with many of the descendants from the first settlers still working and living in the district.
One of the highlights of visiting the region is to experience the World Heritage-2listed Convict Trail. Your guide will show you fine examples of convict workmanship and you will really get a feel for the hardship suffered by the convicts during the building of the road as you walk along the exact route that they toiled over.
A visit to the historic village of St Albans is also a reminder of how life used to be when settlers, pioneers and emancipated convicts travelled up river to scratch out a living on the river flats. Of course, a visit to the oldest pub in Australia is also a must – The Settlers Arms, built in 1836.
To gain another perspective of the magnificent Hawkesbury is of course to take a boat ride along its meandering path. Start the day with a visit to the setting of Kate Grenville’s renowned historic novel – the Secret River, before arriving at Brooklyn where you will board the Riverboat Postman, Australia’s last operating mail boat. Join in the fun of delivering the mail and other essentials to the river only access settlements along the waterway.
There are so many other attractions to see in this region – some of the must-sees are a visit to Rouse Hill House and Farm, the Ferry artists gallery, Tizzana winery where the vineyards were planted with imported and Italian vine cuttings (established in 1899), a visit to Guide Dogs of NSW where it is bound to bring a smile to everyone’s face, and also the Canoelands Orchard Honey tour, and Tobruk sheep station which are crowd favorites. Of course the hilarious convict-themed dinner at Riverbend restaurant will have everyone up and dancing to the sound of the Bellbird Bush Band.
This trip has it all. So why not come along with other members of the Probus Association of Victoria on this 4 day / 3 night adventure from October 10th – 13th 2016.
For a full itinerary and more details contact Trade Travel on 1800 034 439 or email groups@tradetravel.com
Sue Grady
The Victorian Probian
April – May 2016 Edition
